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| Lake Country Bible Church http://www.lakecountrybible.org/ |
Some time ago a ministry friend from Florida told me about a like-minded church outside of Milwaukee that was searching for a new Senior Pastor. This pastor colleague of mine was friends with Lake Country's Youth Pastor via his finance who was a member of this shepherd's church in West Palm Beach, Florida. He recommended I connect with the P.S.C there. Are you confused yet? In God's good Providence this human connection was God's initial means to eventually transition us from Illinois to Wisconsin. What things led Andrea and I to accept the pastoral call to a ministry setting outside of suburban Milwaukee?
Here is a list of 10 Factors:
10) I immediately connected with the initial contact person from LCBC. Long time member and PSC chair (Jason Valentine) quickly became a friend. The more he expressed leadership's heart for gospel ministry the more compatible we appeared to be. The fact his family was the same age as mine was also a blessing.
9) Lake Country Bible Church clearly knew what kind of shepherd-expositor and lead pastor they were looking for. One of the things that discourages me the most about the American church today is how so many Word-dominated and biblically qualified pastors have such a difficult time finding full-time ministries. I have many friends (that are much better men than me) who have been unable to find ministry work. I was impressed that the founding pastor and elders at LCBC had a good grasp on what the priorities of a local church are (Col. 1:28-29; Eph. 4:11-16) and therefore they also knew what kind of lead pastor they were looking for.
8) The Lake Country area is beautiful and will be a great place to raise a family. As Pastor Sal told me "They don't call this region Lake Country for nothing." This suburban context is surrounded by beautiful expressions of our Creator's artistic majesty.
7) The Pastor Search Committee demonstrated sincerity, spiritual maturity, and warmth. The team Pastor Sal put together to present an unanimous recommendation to the elders were the kind of people one would want to do life and ministry with.
6) The elder team were like-minded, Word-driven, humble servants of Christ. As I have said before, faithful lay leaders are the backbone of the Church. Even with the ministry's founding pastor transitioning to ministry work in India Pastor Sal left behind a faithful group of shepherd-leaders.
5) LCBC's lay leaders and congregation demonstrated a commitment to the principles reflected in 1 Timothy 5:17-19 and 1 Thessalonians 2:13 and 5:12-13. Sadly, many churches today do not flesh out the implications of these Divinely inspired texts.
4) Over the past many months the Lord has worked out detail after detail after detail. When the Lord's hand is in something you often know it. From four open spots in a new Classical Conversations home school community, to potential new friendships for each of our children, we sensed the Lord's leading each step of the way.
3) The current Pastoral and Church Staff at LCBC will be like-minded ministry partners- Outside of one's lay leaders the church and pastoral staff are the individuals a Senior Pastor works with most closely. Successful gospel ministry is always a team effort. The staff at LCBC are hardworking, humble, and committed "team players."
2) LCBC passed the congregational singing and expository listening test. This past Sunday my wife and I met the congregation at LCBC for the first time. My wife commented about how moved she was when she heard member after member say how diligently they have been praying during this process.
During the worship service I was most interested in two things: How the praise team lead the singing portion of the service, (was it a band performance or was it a group of faithful muscians leading the great choir in song) and how attentively the congregation listened as the Word of God was preached. The flock passed this biblical litmus test with flying colors.
1) The Kindness, Like-mindedness, and Friendship of LCBC's founding Pastor Sal Massa.
For a number of reasons, many Sr. Pastor's do not transition in a way that benefits and serves the incoming Lead Pastor. I have posted a few articles about this here and here. Pastor Sal went above and beyond during the candidation process to ensure I was "the right man for the job" and that I would be able to hit the ground running. Pastor Sal provided an example that I seek to imitate as I finish up my ministry at FBC, Freeport.
Pastor Sal is an intense, verse by verse expository preacher. Sadly, many churches today want casual and lite talks that do not pass the 2 Timothy 4:1f mandate to "herald" the Word of God. Pastor Sal is exhorts in sound doctrine but he also refutes those who contradict it (see Titus 1:5f). Sadly, many churches today do not want to hear polemical preaching despite the clear mandates of Scripture; (see Jude 3-23; 1-3 John). Pastor Sal often preaches for close to an hour. Sadly, many churches today can only handle milk (Heb. 5:12-14) and cannot stomach more than 25 minutes of truth in a single setting. Even worse many books on preaching today (see Saving Eutychus) encourage ministers to preach shorter sermons because modern Christians are so entertainment orientated that they cannot handle lengthy expositions of Scripture. More on that subject another time. Suffice it to say, Pastor Sal has prepared his flock for the kind of expository pulpit ministry that I hope to continue in. I would rather preach to two hundred hungry sheep than talk to two thousand people who do not really prefer doctrine and/or who reject the full counsel of God.
The very first thing that I said to the congregation at Lake Country this past Sunday expresses my appreciation for the ministry partnership with Pastor Sal.
"It is an absolute joy to be with you this morning. Now we all know what an arranged marriage feels like. Your PSC, elders, and church stuff have been wonderful. In view of the circumstances that bring us together this morning it's only appropriate for me to share a few personal words now, rather than meeting you for the first time from the pulpit.
Your Pastor (Sal) has become very dear to me over the past few months and I am beginning to realize more and more how much he means to this family of believers.
Now on one hand both Pastor Sal and I believe that no person is indispensable to the Lord's work. We base this conviction off texts like 1 Corinthians 3:4-9. "For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are they not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."
On the flip side of the coin Scripture also tells us to "render honor to whom honor is due." In some choice vessels, "God's grace so shines in them, that it lightens the path of many." Your Sr. Pastor is one such beacon of light!
If Yankee Stadium is "the house that Ruth built," and if the first Jerusalem temple is "the house Solomon built," surely Lake Country Bible Church is the house Sal built, "according to the grace that was given to him."
I am honored to be here and look forward to sharing the Word with you on this very special day."
The rest of the story as they say is history. Please pray for us as we seek to finish well and glorify the Lord of the Church, both in Freeport and in Nashotah.
